By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
October 12, 2007

The City of Hood River is making it safer for pedestrians to cross State Street in front of the public library.

By late November, the municipality’s public works crew will have installed raised “islands” at both ends of the marked crosswalk. The 6-inch slabs of yellow-striped concrete will prevent motorists from parking near the walkway.

The parking lot is directly in front of the Hood River News office, 419 State St.

As an added precaution, pedestrians can activate a solar-powered warning light prior to stepping off the curb.

“We want to have this project finished as soon as possible. It is starting to get dark earlier and that makes it more difficult for drivers to see people coming out into the street,” said Bob Francis, city manager.

He said, because of diagonal parking spaces, pedestrians now walk partway across the westbound lane of traffic before they are clearly visible to motorists.

Francis said even the curbside parking next to the eastbound lane makes it difficult to see anyone entering the crosswalk. This summer at least two rear-end accidents occurred when a driver was forced to stop fast for a pedestrian.

“The council wants to eliminate any possibility of someone getting hit by a car because he or she wasn’t seen until it was too late,” said Francis.

Hood River County, which owns and operates the library, has agreed to pay half of the $13,000 cost for the project.